Police varsity on the anvil, to figure in next budget

BENGALURU: Police’s failure to crack high-profile murder cases like those of M M Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh seems to have pushed the government to look at academically reorienting police personnel through proper training. The home department is mulling a separate university to impart investigative skills to cops.

Home minister

Ramalinga Reddy

confirmed that setting up of the university and allocation of funds will figure in the next budget, which is expected to be presented in February.

“Merely blaming police for the failure of investigation without teaching them skills is unfair. The incidence of crime has gone up and the modes of investigation have remarkably changed with the advent of technology; investigators have to be up to date with skills. We think a dedicated university will serve the need,” said Reddy.

The minister said he would discuss the details — including the location of the proposed university — with chief minister Siddaramaiah before finalizing the proposal. The issue of setting up a dedicated university figured in the legislative council session in Belagavi on Thursday.

Replying to BJP’s Tara Anuradha, Reddy said the government had sent a team of home officials to Pune to study the functioning of police training centres. “We have received the study report and are exploring the recommendations. While the focus is on training the existing staff, the objective is to produce graduates with modern investigative skills,” he said.

However, domain experts believe the university could end up increasing unemployment as the police department would not be in a position to absorb so many graduates.

“We are yet to know the contours of the police university. But going by the standard, it is expected to produce at least 1,000 graduates. But where are the jobs for them?” said B B Ashok Kumar, a retired assistant commissioner of police.

On an average, the government recruits 150 sub-inspectors in a year. At the peak of its recruitment drive, the government recruited 200 sub-inspectors in 1998, the highest till date.

Girish Mattennavar, who resigned as a sub-inspector after the infamous Legislature House bomb incident, said instead of setting up the university at the cost of public money, the government must make the best use of existing police training institutes.

The state has two police academies — in Mysuru and Kalaburagi — to train newly appointed sub-inspectors before their induction. There are 15 training centres for the constabulary.

“Policing skills, including investigation, should be taught on the job. The government will do well in improving the quality of police academies and developing customized training methods,” said Mattennavar.

K Vijay Kumar, a former TN IPS officer who headed the special task force that killed forest brigand Veerappan, said the university would be a good idea, provided the skill sets taught cover all aspects, including forensic science, cybercrime and information technology.

“The idea of police university is nothing new. There is one in Gujarat, which is doing well. There is no cause to worry about unemployment since graduates equipped with modern skills are sought-after and can look for jobs anywhere in the world,” said Vijay Kumar, who is senior security advisor to the Union home ministry.